I've actually been enjoying a brand which you panned last season! Haha I was all set to write a rave review and then noticed you'd already reviewed it.

Ohh well, it's the Horizon Organic Lowfat Egg Nog. The taste, consistency and sweetness have been pretty satisfying for me and bonus points for being organic and low fat.

You dismissed the tasted as tasting like bananas which I may not completely agree with. I suppose it's also possible that this year's batch taste different? However! I am still holding out for superior flavor this season so I'll keep this posted!

Honestly, I have been surprised at the large variation in brands, availability, and marketing in this year's season as compared with last. I thought last year I had seen it all, and now this year lots of interesting things have cropped up

First up, we have Food Lion brand egg nog

This is the store brand of one of the local grocery stores.
Very, very nice. Very similar to PET in almost every way. Great "classic" taste, just about right in terms of consistency, thickness, taste, etc.....

8/10. I would say it's not quite as "alive" as PET, but otherwise a very good substitute.

I noticed Food Lion also has a "Premium" brand eggnog too, so I still need to try this, although I almost wonder if it is just the same thing, in a plastic jug instead of the cardboard.

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Next up, Purity!This is not a brand they have near where I live, but we visited some relatives in Nashville and I was able to sample one of their local brands.

On the right is a half gallon of Purity Eggnog. Very very similar to the Food Lion and Pet, a good, classic taste, perhaps indestinguishable from the Food Lion, but again, not quite as "alive" as PET.

8/10 for Purity eggnog

On the left, we have Purity "Old Fashioned Holiday boiled custard". I had never seen or tried this before, but I thought, what the heck? Maybe it will be a new taste sensation?

Not quite. It doesn't have the same kick as egg-nog, and the closest thing I can compare it to is it is like drinking melted vanilla ice-cream. Not bad, but not amazing either.

4/10 for Purity boiled custard

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Next,

On the left, we have Maola eggnog. A newcomer on the scene? I think I have heard of their milk before, but never seen the eggnog in years past. This is what I hinted at the other day as possibly being better than PET, so of course I'm in for the side by side comparison.

The Maola certainly has the same "kick" and liveliness as PET, and of course all the obligatory amount of nutmeg. Consistency is about right, if a slight bit thinner than the PET.

Side by side comparison, they are both incredibly good, and quite a bit similar actually. However, the Maola tastes a bit more "fruity", and the PET a bit more "rich".

If you drink the Maola first, and then the PET right after, the PET tastes slightly less flavored, closer to whipped cream. But if you drink the PET first, and then the Maola, the Maola tastes kind of like bananas, kind of like the Horizon did last year.

So! Is this Maola really the best brand? Which is better?

I'm giving them a close tie, as they are both excellent in their own distinct way.

9.5/10 for Maola! Well done.

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Now, 'Cade, in response to your comment about Horizon, if I can find it this year, I'll have to try it again and see if it is any different.

Coming up next: Food Lion Premium, PET premium (if I can find it?) , really will be more of an experiment to see if there is really any difference, or if they add the word premium as BS just on different packaging.

Also still need to try a real Organic brand ...

And ... as I will be visiting some other relatives where they still have the same grocery store as used to be in my town (Kroger), I may have the opportunity to try once again, the brand of eggnog that originally got me hooked, and that I haven't had in about 15 years since the stores moved out of North Carolina. Kroger brand is the gold standard in my memory, so I may have a chance to see how it stacks up against the current favorites.

Mega review indeed. A bit over the top perhaps even? But it's all in the spirit of good fun, and new taste sensations.